Ornaments

[don in brooklin on]

I poise these questions here as hopefully you may have some ideas on this project.

A local cancer support group man a booth a mall at Christmas time to wrap gifts and my idea is that they could sell ornaments at the same time.  Could even act as gift tag.

My questions -

What type of ornaments sell well at Christmas time?  Any big seller?

What is a reasonable price?

Do you paint (or spray) or just leave as is?

What materials do you use?

Any thought on display?  My thought was to have a post with dowels sticking out so not to take up too much space.

Your comments would be appreciated.

Don

PS:  My first ornament was a rework of Gayle Ornament from Scroller's café.

Edited January 21, 2020 by don in brooklin on
spelling

[Bill WIlson]

23 minutes ago, don in brooklin on said:

First, I don't sell ornaments.  I've made thousands of ornaments, but give them away.  Also, the wife & I always look for new, interesting ornaments when we are at craft shows or vacation, so I may be replying to your questions from a little different perspective.

 

I poise these questions here as hopefully you may have some ideas on this project.

A local cancer support group man a booth a mall at Christmas time to wrap gifts and my idea is that they could sell ornaments at the same time.  Could even act as gift tag.

My questions -

What type of ornaments sell well at Christmas time?  Any big seller?  Varies widely.  Folks with little kids might like Santa & toy themed ornaments.  Religious folks might like religious themed ornaments, etc.  I look for unique ones, both to make and buy.  Stick with traditional Christmas themes, but I think "cute" will always sell.  There are so many different patterns out there, it's almost mind boggling.  Lots to choose from.

What is a reasonable price?  Depends on complexity and materials used.  I would start out keeping them relative simple.  I think $3 - $5 would be reasonable for simple ones, while more elaborate ones could fetch $10 - $15.

Do you paint (or spray) or just leave as is?  Again, depends.  I like a clear finish on natural wood ornaments.  I use shellac.  I also use dyes, if I want to add some color.  Paint is OK, but I think it's more time consuming and unless it really adds something, I would avoid it. 

What materials do you use?  Baltic Birch ply for ones with lots of fine detail.  Also benefit from availability of very thin stock, down to 1/16", which means you can stack cut more at one time.  I love using solid hardwoods, but can't get them as thin as the BB ply.  Solid hardwood probably isn't nearly as cost effective either.  If you can readily make your own thin stock, you could try some hardwoods, but I would charge accordingly.  I tend to try to stay on the lighter side, as dark wood ornaments don't show up as well on the tree.  If the ornament is made from more than one piece, you can use contrasting species to compliment each other.  Don't be afraid to think outside the box a little.  I once made a batch of snowflake ornaments out of some clear polycarbonate that I scrounged out of the scrap bin at work.

Any thought on display?  My thought was to have a post with dowels sticking out so not to take up too much space.  That would work pretty well.  Maybe something Christmas tree shaped? Add a little color to the display to help make it festive, stand out and compliment the ornaments.

Your comments would be appreciated.

Don

PS:  My first ornament was a rework of Gayle Ornament from Scroller's café.  I like it.  Dated ornaments are always popular.  Good luck!

 

[kmmcrafts]

 

What type of ornaments sell well at Christmas time?  Any big seller?  My case me be different because I sell to a worldwide audience.. but for me.. my best sellers are career themed ornaments.. ie nurse, lawyer, etc etc.. But I think selling in a local community I'd look to do some local themed items.. I stay away from things that have the date... as because if they don't sell with the 2020 date.. it's pretty hard to sell 2020 ornament in 2021,2022 etc etc.. If you do go that route with date.. don't stockpile too many of them, LOL One of the craft magazines I have has some patterns that has santa riding a bike, driving a tractor, a boat, etc etc.. Someone has some cancer survivor ribbon ornament patterns.. I make them but can't think off the top of my head who the designer is.. They are cute and I would think they might sell decent at a show.. Probably not so much online like I do.. but a local show they might... 

What is a reasonable price? I sell my ornaments between $15 and $25 depending on the design.. $25 is more of a custom / personalized ornament that I make 1-2 offs of.. and the higher price covers the designing time.. etc.. At a local level.. I think a $8-12 range is probably more logical..

Do you paint (or spray) or just leave as is? I dip my ornaments in Danish oil... some detailed ornaments is hard to get a nice even coat of spray if you use sprays.. also sprays get expensive to use when doing large amounts of ornaments.. a $35 ish dollar a gallon of Danish oil will cover more ornaments than I believe you'll be able to make and sell at a mall.. and the price of sprays would more than triple that cost..

What materials do you use? I use mostly 1/8" BBply... however I do use some solid woods such as oak, cherry etc etc.. BUT.. My own experience is.. the darker color of woods used do not show up the ornaments too well when hung on a tree.. I have some cherry ornaments on my personal tree.. and they just do not stand out on the tree as well as the lighter colors like the BBply does.. Oak is nice.. too.. In the solid woods.. I typically make the ornaments from 1/4 for added strength and it's easier to find 1/4 than it is 1/8th solid woods.. I have a plainer and will plain down to 3/16 for my solid wood ornaments.. but if you have to "buy" the lumber 1/4 is easier to get.. 

Any thought on display?  My thought was to have a post with dowels sticking out so not to take up too much space. The post idea sound pretty good.. I might consider making it a four sided deal that spins and is about a foot wide on each side.. build it to spin like the sunglasses, and earring displays do.. make it with pegboard and buy some hangers for the pegboard.. I did this with the few shows I did do before i took it online only... Don't want to make it? well.. you can also buy a shoe rack thing that has 3-4 levels of individual spinning tears.. I also used one of those.. worked well but was kinda top heavy.. the homemade deal I made so it was heavy at the bottom ( big block of wood at the base) so it wouldn't tip easy.. 

Best of luck and keep us posted as to what you end up doing.. 

Edited January 21, 2020 by kmmcrafts

[JTTHECLOCKMAN]

I use to make ornaments with a scrollsaw but now my ornaments are turned on a lathe but with that said I see lots of ornaments at shows all the time and Christmas themed ones sell best because they are put on a tree. I think Bill hit all the highlights and BB is the best material because they can be stack cut and $5 is the going price up to $10 for real elaborate one unless doing those new 3D ones which will be more. I see them both ways left plain with an oil finish and also painted. I seen them decorated with glitter and the whole nine yards. I was never into that. Plain and oiled was my way. For display I always thought the small Christmas tree was a good way to display. Now if room is a problem then a scrolled out flat Christmas tree with dowels would be a nice way to display. 

Now from your story this is being sold by a local cancer support group. There is ornaments that deal with all the various cancers out there and what they do is add the color ribbon that represents that cancer. These are sold year long. If i find the site I will post. But something to think about. 

[don in brooklin on]

Thanks for the input.

I do have a really nice awareness angel by Sue Mey that I simplified as I did 40 for a luncheon at the support centre.  It will be one of the ones I present for consideration.

Good idea on limiting the use on the dated ones. 

Since this is for next Christmas I do have lots of time to prepare but it is the decision process that takes awhile. 

I think establishing the price will be key but that will be in there hands.

I will keep you posted.  

Thanks again.

 

 

[spirithorse]

Hi, Don,
As you well know, pricing is highly dependent upon your market audience.
Around here, I could never get the prices that Kevin can sell his for.

As for best sellers, people are really intrigued by the 3D ornaments because
it is hard for someone that does not scroll to imagine how that is done.
They are also unique enough that the price could be a little higher for those
than a 2 dimensional ornament.

Since it is a cancer support group, those type of ornaments should sell well
just because cancer has touched so many lives and buyers will be more willing
to buy the ornament just to support the fight against cancer.

I would probably leave my finish simple like a spray of polyurethane, some plain,
and possibly dip some in Danish oil or similar.

Thanks again for your generosity for causes like this one.

God Bless! Spirithorse

[don in brooklin on]

Good idea on the 3D,  I have made lots of bird houses over the years and they are well received.  I will add to my presentation.

Thanks 

Don

 

[kmmcrafts]

This is one I would consider.. since it's a cancer thing.... The link to the pattern is the last posting from JT..

 

[JTTHECLOCKMAN]

I knew someone was paying attention. The 3d nativity set ornaments seem to do well by Steve Good. Not too hard to make either and you can stack cut the pieces. 

[bcdennis]

As for a best seller - anything Nativity sells great. 

I use 1/4 poplar, cedar or red oak on my ornaments and sell them for between $5 and $10 dollars for regular sizes.  More if customized or slotted. 

I usually don't treat them unless specifically asked too.  I have had a lot of people say they want to paint them or stain them to match their tree. 

[Puzzleguy]

Don , what ever is popular can change from event to event -an example of this might be a harvest festival , grape festival , Christmas Show -

so sometimes having a wide variety ( to see what sells best for you ) is the best approach .

A bad example is - years ago I did a apple festival -so i made allot of apple ornaments -

out of the twenty i made I think i came home with like 16 of them - so i got that wrong -

you never know -so variety is my best answer - Some really good advice my dad gave me

and he wasnt trying to be mean was " Dont give up your day job " becasue it takes a while to figure this thing out

before it will feed you -True as rain !